Hltoppr
El Gringo Spectacular!
As many of you who have been around here for awhile know, I have a fondness for Mexico. It's always been a place where I go to renew my faith in humanity, for the kindness of the Mexican people; many of whom live well below what we in the U.S. would consider to be the poverty level, always is a welcome change from my day-to-day business world.
Last year, with a newly registered 1983 Troop Carrier, I set off for two weeks through the Copper Canyon region, following routes not on the map, and where the security pundits in the states would cringe for Americans to go. That report is here, for those who haven't had the chance to experience it:
http://208.109.177.7/forum/showthread.php?t=13206&highlight=make+tacos
Well, it's 2009, and I recently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ70...so, what's a good Cruiser owner to do? Turn South and head to Mexico again!
This time, it'd be a short, one week trip through Baja Norte with my wife and 2 year old daughter. We spent the month leading up to the trip fending off warnings from family, who are listening to the reports regarding drug violence in the border towns, including Tijuana and Santa Rosalia in Baja. Fully loaded, with the SPOT beacon on and running for friends and family, we packed during a springtime Flagstaff snowstorm and headed South!
Crossing the border at San Luis, just South of Yuma, Arizona, posed no problem, and we drove through some farming communities towards San Felipe, where we stopped for the first night at Pete's Camp, which, while it can be a bit of a "thrillcraft" crowd, has a wonderful restaurant and hot showers. I've always used it as a base from which to start my Baja adventures, and with the San Felipe 250 off road race ending the Saturday before we got there, the large travel trailers, dune buggies, and atvs had mostly cleared out, so we set up the OZtent early and wandered out to the beach.
A large school...if that's what you call it...of jellyfish had decided to come and clean up the area, so kayaking and generally playing in the water was out, but chillin' on the beach, listening to Margaritaville on Sirius were definitely in!
Yup...the little one is stressin' about banditos....
The restaurant had wifi, so I checked up on some last minute work stuff from the Ipod and officially signed off! The next morning, after a great breakfast of juevos rancheros, we filled up with diesel (I gotta remember...diesel pumps in Mexico have BLACK handles!) and hit the road to Bahia de la Gonzaga!
The road...if you can call it that...is being paved, which, in my opinion, will somewhat change the nature of Gonzaga. As it is, the phrase "bad roads bring good people" is certainly true here. South of the fishing village of Puertocitos, the road is unpaved, and is becoming known as one of the roughest roads in Baja. This description didn't disappoint. Rocks, boulders, sand, whoops and arroyos test any vehicle's tires and suspension to the breaking point...and the occupants too! My wife is an old hand at this road, and despite some trepidation about my daughter, she loved it! Bumps and ocean views kept her entertained for the three hour drive down.
About 60 miles into the 100 mile route, a low pitched thump, thump, thump is heard...getting louder faster! I stop in the middle of the road...don't gotta worry too much about traffic here, and inspect the front end. The right front shock is hanging from the top mount. My first thought was that I'd broken the lower mount, but that fear was luckily unfounded, as we'd just lost the lower shock mount bolt. I've got some extra bolts with me, but nothing that big, so I'll just have to sort it out in Gonzaga, or do without a front shock. Off the shock goes and we continue on our way, the one remaining OME shock doing it's best to control the bouncing front end.
The views make the road sooo worth it!
We arrive at Alfonsina's, a local hotel/restaurant frequented by locals, pilots, and intrepid overlanders who dare the roads, to find a mark I think I've seen somewhere before on their sign.
Alfonsina's is a staple of Gonzaga, having been run by the same family since the late 70s. There are two dirt landing strips, and a row of small beach houses, along with a little market, El Rancho Grande, and a Pemex, which may or may not have fuel, depending upon supply and demand. The lack of a good road makes it a quiet, nice place to crash, whether on a bike or rig. Rooms are pricey for Baja, at $60US per night, but they've got some of the best shrimp tacos and stout margaritas in Baja to make up for it!
After a night at Alfonsina's, we move down the beach about a mile and a half to Campo Belluga, which, in accordance with its name...actually had a large sperm whale beach itself there about a month ago. Luckily, some fishermen had towed the carcass out to sea; otherwise month old whale would likely not smell so good....
With camp set up, we introduce our daughter to sea kayaking! As with everything that encompasses a beach, she loves it, and askes for rides whenever mom or dad head out!
-H-
Last year, with a newly registered 1983 Troop Carrier, I set off for two weeks through the Copper Canyon region, following routes not on the map, and where the security pundits in the states would cringe for Americans to go. That report is here, for those who haven't had the chance to experience it:
http://208.109.177.7/forum/showthread.php?t=13206&highlight=make+tacos
Well, it's 2009, and I recently picked up a 1985 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ70...so, what's a good Cruiser owner to do? Turn South and head to Mexico again!
This time, it'd be a short, one week trip through Baja Norte with my wife and 2 year old daughter. We spent the month leading up to the trip fending off warnings from family, who are listening to the reports regarding drug violence in the border towns, including Tijuana and Santa Rosalia in Baja. Fully loaded, with the SPOT beacon on and running for friends and family, we packed during a springtime Flagstaff snowstorm and headed South!
Crossing the border at San Luis, just South of Yuma, Arizona, posed no problem, and we drove through some farming communities towards San Felipe, where we stopped for the first night at Pete's Camp, which, while it can be a bit of a "thrillcraft" crowd, has a wonderful restaurant and hot showers. I've always used it as a base from which to start my Baja adventures, and with the San Felipe 250 off road race ending the Saturday before we got there, the large travel trailers, dune buggies, and atvs had mostly cleared out, so we set up the OZtent early and wandered out to the beach.
A large school...if that's what you call it...of jellyfish had decided to come and clean up the area, so kayaking and generally playing in the water was out, but chillin' on the beach, listening to Margaritaville on Sirius were definitely in!
Yup...the little one is stressin' about banditos....
The restaurant had wifi, so I checked up on some last minute work stuff from the Ipod and officially signed off! The next morning, after a great breakfast of juevos rancheros, we filled up with diesel (I gotta remember...diesel pumps in Mexico have BLACK handles!) and hit the road to Bahia de la Gonzaga!
The road...if you can call it that...is being paved, which, in my opinion, will somewhat change the nature of Gonzaga. As it is, the phrase "bad roads bring good people" is certainly true here. South of the fishing village of Puertocitos, the road is unpaved, and is becoming known as one of the roughest roads in Baja. This description didn't disappoint. Rocks, boulders, sand, whoops and arroyos test any vehicle's tires and suspension to the breaking point...and the occupants too! My wife is an old hand at this road, and despite some trepidation about my daughter, she loved it! Bumps and ocean views kept her entertained for the three hour drive down.
About 60 miles into the 100 mile route, a low pitched thump, thump, thump is heard...getting louder faster! I stop in the middle of the road...don't gotta worry too much about traffic here, and inspect the front end. The right front shock is hanging from the top mount. My first thought was that I'd broken the lower mount, but that fear was luckily unfounded, as we'd just lost the lower shock mount bolt. I've got some extra bolts with me, but nothing that big, so I'll just have to sort it out in Gonzaga, or do without a front shock. Off the shock goes and we continue on our way, the one remaining OME shock doing it's best to control the bouncing front end.
The views make the road sooo worth it!
We arrive at Alfonsina's, a local hotel/restaurant frequented by locals, pilots, and intrepid overlanders who dare the roads, to find a mark I think I've seen somewhere before on their sign.
Alfonsina's is a staple of Gonzaga, having been run by the same family since the late 70s. There are two dirt landing strips, and a row of small beach houses, along with a little market, El Rancho Grande, and a Pemex, which may or may not have fuel, depending upon supply and demand. The lack of a good road makes it a quiet, nice place to crash, whether on a bike or rig. Rooms are pricey for Baja, at $60US per night, but they've got some of the best shrimp tacos and stout margaritas in Baja to make up for it!
After a night at Alfonsina's, we move down the beach about a mile and a half to Campo Belluga, which, in accordance with its name...actually had a large sperm whale beach itself there about a month ago. Luckily, some fishermen had towed the carcass out to sea; otherwise month old whale would likely not smell so good....
With camp set up, we introduce our daughter to sea kayaking! As with everything that encompasses a beach, she loves it, and askes for rides whenever mom or dad head out!
-H-
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